Washing-machine.



Pat ented Jan. 21. |9o2.

-n.- w'. HUGHES & w. T. s. BARNES.

WASHINGMAGHINE.

(Application filed Mar. 12, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID W. HUGHES, or VANDALIA, AND WILLIAM T. s. BARNES, or

' JACKSON, MISSOURI.

WASHING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 691,468, dated January 21, 1902.

Application filed March 12, 1901. Serial No. 50,819. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, DAVID XV. HUGHES, residing at Vandalia, in the county of Audrain, and WILLIAM T.S. BARNES, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson, State of Missouri, citizens of the United States, have invented a new and useful \Vashing-Machine, of which the following is a specificalllOI].

The invention relates to improvements in washing-machines.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of washing-machines and to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive one capable of enabling clothes to be rapidly and thoroughly washed without injuring the fabrics and adapted to be readily arranged for operating on fine and delicate fabrics.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the washing-machine constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4: is a detail perspective view of the oscillatory pounder.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding partsin all the figures of the drawlngs.

1 designates a washing-machine body rectangular in cross-section and provided at its ends with journals 2, arranged in suitable bearings of an oscillatory frame 3, which is pivotally mounted on a stand-4. The oscillatory frame consists of a longitudinal bar 5 and upwardly-extending arms 6 and 7, provided with hearing slots or recesses, in which the journals of the washing-machine body are secured by pins 8. The stand consists of a horizontal bar 9, vertical legs or posts 10, located at the ends of the horizontal bar, and bottom pieces 11, secured to the lower ends of the legs and forming feet, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings. The stand is provided at its center with a pair of upwardly-extending parallel arms passes through the center of the bottom of the oscillatory frame.

The washing-machinebody is adapted to oscillate transversely on its journals, and it is capable of swinging longitudinally on the pivot 13 of the oscillatory frame, and this double motion is adapted to cause a thorough agitation of its contents, whereby the clothes or other fabrics will be thoroughly and uniformly operated on by the washing mechanism hereinafter explained.

The oscillatory frame is provided at one side of its center with a pair of depending arms 14, provided with perforations 15, arranged at intervals and adapted to receive a pin 16, which also passes through the stand, whereby the oscillatory frame is rigidly secured to the stand. The perforations 17 of the stand are arranged in an inclined series and are adapted to register with the perforations of the depending arms, and the oscillatory frame may be locked in a horizontal position or it may be secured at an inclination. The arm '7 of the oscillatory frame is provided with an extension 18, having a perforation 19, adapted to receive a pin 20, which also engages a perforation or socket of the adjacent end of the washing-machine body, whereby the latter is rigidly held in the frame when it is desired to wring the clothes. The washing-machine bodyis provided at one end with a wringer-supporting board 22, and it has a central longitudinal cover 23, having one end arranged beneath the wringer-supporting board and secured at its other end by a suitable fastening device 24. The cover is arranged within a recess of the top of the washing-machine body, and its upper face is flush with the top of the body, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 of the accompanying draw- Ings.

Within the washing-machine body, at the center of the bottom thereof, is pivotally mounted an oscillatory agitator 25, adapted to swing from one side of the bottom of the body to the other and capable of agitating and changing the relative position of the fabrics, whereby different portions of the same will be exposed to the washing mechanism,

so that the fabrics will be uniformly and thoroughly washed. The oscillatory agitator consists of a square bar 26, provided at intervals with upwardly-extending approximately V- shaped loops 27, projecting from one of the angles or corners of the bar 26. The bar is secured to the ends of the washing-machine body by removable pivots 28 to enable the agitator to be taken out of the washing-machine body when very delicate fabrics are to be washed. The agitator 26 is capable of a limited oscillation, the opposite lower fiat faces of the bar 26 being adapted to alternately engage the bottom of the washingmachine body. As the body is swung on its pivots or journals the clothes or other fabrics are carried from one side of the body to the other, and they engage the oscillatory agitator, which by swinging with the clothes is adapted to turn them over and change their position, and it prevents them from collecting and remaining in a bunch or wad.

The clothes or other fabrics are operated on by a swinging or oscillating pounder removably suspended within the body by cords 30 or other suitable devices connected at their lower ends to the pounder 29 and having their upper ends secured to removable pins 31. The removable pins 31, which are provided with eyes to receive the cords, are removably fitted in perforations of the ends of the washing-machine body, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. The pounder consists of a series of approximately cubical blocks 32, strung on a connecting-rod 33, which passes diagonally through the said blocks and which is provided at its ends with eyes for the reception of the lower terminals of the cords. The blocks are provided with openings 34:, 35, and 36, the opening 36 being arranged eccentrically of the blocks to unbalance the same, whereby the pounder will always present lower sharp edges to the clothes or other fabrics. The pounder is adapted to swing from one side of the washing-machine body to the other, and the openings of the blocks permit water to pass through them, and the clothes being washed are pounded against springs 37, located at opposite sides of the washing-Inachine body and spaced therefrom to provide the necessary cushion and also to enable the water to pass through and get in rear of the clothes, whereby the water may be expelled from the clothes by the pounder, and the effect of the water on the clothes is greatly increased. The cushions formed by the springs may be removed. The said springs, which extend upward from bottom bars 38, consist of sigmoidally-curved wires forming serpentine springs, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings.

The springs are retained in the washingmachine body by means of upper and lower pins 39 and 40. The pins 39 depend from the top of the washing-machine body and are arranged to engage the upper ends of the adjacent springs, and the pins 40 extend through the ends of the washing-machine body into suitable recesses of the ends of the bottom bars 38.

The washing-machine body is provided at one end with an upwardly-extending handle 41, by means of which it is oscillated both laterally and longitudinally, and a suitable drain-opening is provided at the bottom of thebody to enable the liquid contents of the latter to be readily drawn off.

It will be seen that the clothes are thoroughly agitated by the double movement of the washing-machine body and that this effect is increased by the oscillating agitator which swings with the clothes, whereby it is enabled to throw them upward, as the momentum of the clothes will assist this movement of the agitator. Furthermore, it will be apparent that the clothes are pounded between the cubical blocks and the resilient cushions at the sides of the body and that as the springs are spaced fromthe sides of the body the water is permitted to pass in rear of the same and it is enabled to pass more readily through the clothes, whereby its effect is greatly increased. The springs also prevent the clothes from striking in a mass against the solid sides of the body, and the clothes by being stopped before they arrive at the walls of the body causes the water to be forced through them, thereby removing the dirt and stains. The water being in rear of the clothes also assists the movement of the latter to the opposite side of the body. The cubical blocks of the pounder are constructed of wood and are adapted to float on the water within the body. The oscillating or vibrating agitator, which is provided with the short loops and which has a limited swing, is adapted to cause the cloth es to be completely turned at each stroke ofthe handle or lever, and the double movement of the washing-machine body not only causes the clothes to pass from one side of the same to the other side thereof, but it also moves the clothes longitudinally of it from one end to the other. It will also be apparcut that the oscillating agitator, the pounder, and the springs may be removed from the washing-machine body when delicate fabrics, such as laces, are to be washed and that the washing-machine may be rigidly held when it is desired to wring the clothes.

What we claim is 1. A washing-machine comprising a stand provided with legs, an oscillatory frame pivotally mounted on the stand and provided with upwardly-extending arms, means for rigidly connecting the frame with the stand, and a washing machine body pivotally mounted between the arms of the frame and having its pivots arranged at right angles to the pivot of the frame, substantially as described.

2. A washing-machine comprising a stand provided with upwardly-extending arms, an oscillatory frame pivotally mounted between the arms of the stand and provided with depending arms, means for rigidly securing the depending arms to the stand, a washing-machine body pivotally mounted within the frame and having its pivots arranged at right angles to thepivot of theframe, and meansfor operating the washing-machine bod y, substantially as described.

3. In a Washing-machine, the combination of a stand, an oscillating body, and an agitator comprising a square bar pivoted at one of its angles within the body, at the bottom thereof and having its lower flat faces arranged to engage the said bottom, and the loops extending from the bar, substantially as described.

4. In a washing-machine, the combination of a stand, a frame pivotally mounted on the stand, a washing machine body pivotally mounted in the frame and arranged to swing at right angles to the same, whereby it is capable of lateral and longitudinal oscillations, and an agitator comprising a horizontal series of cubical blocks provided with openings, a rod passing through the blocks and discushions comprising bottom bars detachably v secured Within the body and the upwardlyextending springs, and means to limit the inward movement of the springs, substantially as described.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto affixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

DAVID W. HUGHES. WILLIAM T. S. BARNES.

Witnesses as to Hughes:

J. 0. TERRILL, WARREN W. BLAND.

- Vitnesses as tov Barnes:

J NO. 0. MILLER, M. O. HARTWELL, 

